Best Overall Graphics

It's amazing to think that Halo 3, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4 all run on the same underlying game engine on the same Xbox 360 console. Halo 4 is a quantum leap ahead of its predecessors, visually speaking, and it's also the most eyeball-meltingly impressive game on any platform in 2012. By combining clever tricks with an experience 100% tailored to one console, Halo 4 plays every card in the Xbox 360's technological hand and throws down a royal flush. Astounding set-pieces on every level merge with water paint-worthy art direction and near photorealistic cutscenes to create a visual identity that anyone--whether they're a Halo fan or not--has to stop and admire. Heck, even the multiplayer maps are gorgeous.